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About this blog: I am a perpetually hungry twenty-something journalist, born and raised in Menlo Park and currently working at the Palo Alto Weekly as education and youth staff writer. I graduated from USC with a major in Spanish and a minor in jo... (More)

About this blog: I am a perpetually hungry twenty-something journalist, born and raised in Menlo Park and currently working at the Palo Alto Weekly as education and youth staff writer. I graduated from USC with a major in Spanish and a minor in journalism. Though my first love is journalism, food is a close second. I am constantly on the lookout for new restaurants to try, building an ever-expanding "to eat" list. As a journalist, I'm always trolling news sources and social media websites with an eye for local food news, from restaurant openings and closings to emerging food trends. When I was a teenager growing up in Menlo Park, I always drove up to the city on weekends with the singular purpose of finding a better meal than I could at home. But in the past year or so, the Peninsula's food culture has been totally transformed, with many new restaurants opening and a continuous stream of San Francisco restaurants coming south to open Peninsula outposts. Don't navigate this food boom hungry and alone! Feed me your tips on new chefs and eats and together we'll share them with the broader community. (Hide)

Rocket Fizz to open in Mountain View

Sodas in glass bottles, rare Kit-Kat flavors, your favorite childhood candy, gag gifts: Welcome to Rocket Fizz Soda Pop & Candy Shop, a franchise of which is set to open in downtown Mountain View in October.

Mark McLaughlin, whose brother owns a Rocket Fizz franchise in Boulder, Colorado, is opening the new location at 298 Castro St. After 35 years in the film industry, McLaughlin recently moved to Mountain View and wanted to bring the same fun, nostalgic environment that he's witnessed in his brother's shop to the area.

The first Rocket Fizz opened in Camarillo, California, in 2009. The company has since grown to more than 60 franchises across the nation, including one in Palo Alto, which opened on University Avenue in 2012. (At opening, that shop's inventory included 1,500 different candies, 60 types of saltwater taffy and at least 500 flavors of soda.) All of the franchises are independently owned and operated.

McLaughlin describes Rocket Fizz as a place that brings people, young and old, together, where "little kids are just as excited as parents" about the offerings.

The Mountain View Rocket Fizz will sell old-school candy, European and Japanese treats, sodas (all in glass bottles), retro posters, comic books, toys, vintage advertisements and more – all representative of the 20th century, from about the 1930s to the 1980s or 1990s, McLaughlin said.

"Candy is just part of it," he said. "It's really just a pop culture experience."

Each franchise owner tweaks the location to his or her style, so they're all unique, McLaughlin said.

"I'm really into rock and roll music and comic books and pop culture so that's going to be a big influence on my store," he added.